It's been a week after Eve came back to the Tang Mansion.
Nothing changed much, except for some simple, odd things like;
Her father, Sylvius, for some unknown reasons, has been working at home since then.
Her Grappa seems to be missing or so.
Also, there is a noted increase in harassing calls through the home telephone and lastly;
Her bodyguards seem to have changed.
Eve glanced at the two pairs of guards who were lurking not faraway and gossiped with the furball.
( They are not missing an ear or two and look the same, so why do they seem different?)
( Can't you see, host? They are burlier.)
She examined them and noticed that they have indeed grown muscular.
( They gained weight?)
( No. Your gramps punished them.)
( Shouldn't they lose weight then?) Eve presumed her Grappa had them locked in a black room with less meat to eat or something. She did not consider her elder would reprimand them harshly. After all, she had requested not to discipline them heavily.
They have indeed failed to protect her, but she understood it was the only way to meet El.
That is why she acquiesce to their sentence but doesn't want them to lose their lives.
Of course, it's not merely because they do an impeccable job being a medium for food acquisition matters and the like.
The suspicious furball with every gossip cells on constant active mode asked,
( You like them, host?)
( I think they are rather cute.)
Particularly at times when they remind her that she missed her snacks whenever she dozes her existence away.
Halfsie glimpsed at the shy bunch with blushing cheeks that were hard to ignore.
Despite keeping a straight expression when they noticed their little miss gazing at them, they found it challenging to suppress their blooming bashfulness. They are acting like die-hard fans shackled by their obligations, unable to fangirl to their heart's content.
Halfsie shook its body in disgust.
[ Where's cute in that?]
Those men have pecs that almost ripped their white shirts to send their buttons flying. Not to mention, they have that kind of faces that resemble beasts coming back from blood baths.
The furball surmised that the host truly has an eccentric taste. It seems she only has calibrated eyes when surveying the quality of the villain's face.
( Well, host, since you're interested in how they became like that, I'm going to tell you.)
Eve: ? I wasn't interested, though.
( SOOOooo, it turned out your grandfather punished them to push-ups and squats 1000 times each per day. All that, in addition to their daily three-hour cardio routine. You know they even deliberately ran under the sun as if asking for a heat stroke. At first, they felt like they were about to die but gritted their teeth to accept the penalty. Then they noticed their butts were popping out and chest and arms bulging fiercely. Initially, they only took it as punishment and felt guilty doing it. However, when they saw the outcome, that guilt got buried in their muscles. Now they do it as if their days won't be complete without it. You know, host, your father, and gramps were moved by their dedication. How could they know that those squashbutts are doing it for the gains? Blah blah blah...)
Eve: [ Okay. ] She didn't need to hear that.
The furball started mouthing off like a detained gossipmonger, freed back to its gossip pips after decades of isolation. The amount of irrelevant information that flowed out of its imaginary mouth was at an unprecedented speed. Naturally, Eve had filtered the bare essentials before muting it in her mind.
Nevertheless, her curious eyes unconsciously scanned their butts.
When bodyguards met Eve's eyes, they flinched and acted hard to appear natural.
At first, they served her following their Master's words. They only see her as a little miss to be protected, nothing more. Then, that day came. They believed they were done for when she was kidnapped but miraculously, they lived. Recognizing it was due to her that they still exist, they became indebted to her and came to admire her.
Then, grasping that her words held more power than the two masters' edict combined, they respected her more.
" Child, what's wrong?" Sylvius asked the seemingly lost-in-thoughts Eve. Since she came back, he had noticed that her gaze wanders unconsciously towards the distance. He pondered if she was traumatized by that annoying bastard Lucian or worse, she misses that brat child who seduced her. Seriously, he can't lower his guard when it comes to his daughter. What if some cheeky scoundrel tempts her away with their handsome face.
In the beginning, there was that Lu brat, then an evil-doer Stone, and now another one!
Remembering the new person besides his baby made his blood pressure rise.
Sylvius recalled the very unpleasant sensation he underwent when he saw that appearance! And to think that lucky rascal has been dangling around Evangeline for so long. That concept alone clogged fifty percent of his arteries, alright!
When Evangeline introduced him as her person, he almost had a heart attack.
Those vague words nearly cost him his rationality, pushing him to abolish Judas on the spot. His baby daughter, he has not bonded enough yet but kept getting tempted by a bunch of bastards with their stupid looks. When he has yet to erect walls against wolves, here comes another whom she tamed herself.
Oh, the agony of a father-Sylvius could only sigh.
He glanced at his lovely daughter once again and contemplated.
[ It's better to call it a truce with my old man.]
He is unreasonable and childish to the core. Still, at the very least, they share animosity towards the rascals trying to steal Evangeline.
With that, he decided to allow his harassing, bonding-time ruining calls through and secretly unblock him in his daughter's phone.
Yes, the highly sought, rich-as-duck, handsome and man of the year- Sylvius Tang, acted like a sneaky thief that fumbled his teenage daughter's phone when she slept like a log.
It took him immense self-discipline not to delete those young rascal's numbers okay. However, he couldn't risk it and hence, let it be. That decision cost him a great deal of mental fortitude.
" Nothing, Dad. I was just wondering where Grappa is. I haven't seen him."
" Your grandfather messed up and is now being held for it. Don't worry. Your grandfather will be here soon."
" I understand." She responded as she reached out for the freshly baked pastry a servant delivered.
Seeing that his child lay back on the recliner and nib on her cake, Sylvius let out a gentle smile.
His daughter is too adorable.
Evangeline is cute, lovely, charming, kind, and pure. Simply put, one could describe her using all the beautiful adjectives. He could understand why those young men are attracted to her. Nonetheless, understanding is one thing but, accepting is another. As her one and only dad, he must defend her at all costs.
Then Eve watched Sylvius beckon to his aide and whisper something.
When Eve woke up that morning, she felt weird when she saw Sylvius standing by her bedside with blood-shut eyes.
Halfsie told her that Sylvius came by before dawn. Upon seeing her lying on the mattress, he started crying for some reason, then decided to act like a statue and watched her slumber.
Later that day, after she introduced Judas, he sent everyone out of the room and started to talk about peculiar topics. He said something about birds and bees and flowers, and something like she should treat men as wolves with thieving hearts and poisonous faces. She doesn't get it. Still, one fact caught her attention. It turns out, in this plane, they consider adulthood to start at 18 and can do adult stuff by then. Eve concluded that El has been refusing her because of this. She decided to wait for El to turn into an adult before going at it again.
It's all good. She could focus on letting Sylvius and Iris have her brother before that Hemiura comes into the picture.
Now thinking of it, she lost track of time and forgot when they are supposed to come.
( Halfsie, how long until the Hemiura courts death?)
( Not that long, host. At most in nine months, she'll come knocking on your door with the heavenly being in tow.)
Eve frowned. She estimated wrongly and deemed it would not be long until she meets them.
[ Should I hurry things up?]
She then glances at Sylvius, who had buried himself in his laptop again, and remembered one thing.
" Dad."
" Yes, Evangeline." Sylvius took a cup of coffee and sipped it leisurely.
" I think it's time to get married." Eve sat up and turned serious.
Bouts of harsh coughing responded to her.
It seems her grappa and dad had a weird genetic fault of swallowing liquids wrongly. She hopes Evangeline did not inherit that. Just listening to the sound of an unrelenting cough made her flinched. It sounded like her dad needed the last rites. How terrible.
" Ma-married?!" Sylvius, horrified, asked in between his coughs.
" Yes. Dad and Miss Iris should hurry and get married, then give me a brother." Eve answered.
The two already had ample time to bond. In addition, they like each other anyway so there shouldn't be any conflict. Eve also calculated that after they seal the deal, she could officially start with Hemiura.
Confirming that it was him and Iris made Sylvius breathe in relief. So relieved that he did not hear the "give me a brother" part. He was very comforted knowing his daughter isn't thinking of marrying right now. Heavens knew how his sight dimmed after she mentioned marriage. Three faces immediately sprouted in his mind and sparked his long-suppressed bloodlust. Fortunately, he thought wrong.
When the idea finally sank in, he blushed.
" ...this. I need to talk to Iris first." He coughed a new, hiding his embarrassment.
Although Sylvius knew being with Iris only headed in that direction, he still can't help feeling shy and a little troubled when his daughter urges them. Didn't she know there's an order for everything? Like, let things flow of their own accord.
Naturally, Eve doesn't. She is planning to take matters into her own hands if her dad doesn't make haste. Her eyes dangerously gleamed as she crafted ideas causing Sylvius to shudder by the sudden chill.
Fortunately, Eve's phone rang, cutting off Sylvius' disease process.
Before she could grab it, her dad seized the phone and responded with a disgruntled expression.
" It's you again. When will you stop bothering my daughter?" His voice is so cold it could freeze the plants in the greenhouse.
" My word, Sylvius. If you could stop snatching my daughter's cell so I could talk to her, that would be great. Now, could you do me a favor and get lost." A taunting voice replied.
" You don't have a daughter. Delusion is a disease that needs treatment. Why don't you sign yourself in, Lucian? Oh, I forgot, you are hopeless, and only a miracle can cleanse that stupidity away."
" How funny, Tang. I didn't know you started working in a comedy bar. But, how could you not when you, yourself, are a joke."
" The greatest joke apparently comes from that deluded mind. Believing my daughter is yours is the biggest joke of all, Cross."
" Pardon, don't forget that I am Linlin's Undad. Sooooo, get over it, Sylvius Tang."
" There is no such wretched word, Lucian Cross."
The two started to bicker just like that.
Sylvius is beyond exasperated that the damned, crazy jerk claims Evangeline is his daughter. He even had the gall to call her that godforsaken rotten name-Linlin.
Though, inwardly he thinks it's cute because everything regarding his daughter is cute. Still, he won't admit it because it was from that guy. Just that idea pisses him off terribly.
Then Sylvius recalled that starting from that cursed night Lucian called, he had nightmares of Evangeline leaving him and went to Sarthaal for good. She calls him "old man" and to that damned Lucian, "dad". It was horrifying. That morning, for the first time in a very long time, he prayed. Prayed that Lucian gets his due and loses his hair, all of it if possible.
On the other hand, Lucian thinks Sylvius is acting like a humongous prick. He is originally a prick but more annoying.
Initially, he had been calling his dear Linlin daily ever since she left them. However, everything changed when that bastard dared to interrupt their precious father-daughter bonding time. He is beyond vexed that he wanted to fly to Xia just to box him. Unfortunately, his lovely wife always managed to ruin his plans. Although he tried acting cute and sell pity, she wouldn't budge. She even punished him to sleep on the floor when he spouted his grievances. He could only cry every time.
Now that his wife is also against him, it has become disastrous. The original unfair division of teams had turned into a deplorable 1 versus 4- causing him a crushing defeat in all aspects of his home life. He is unreconciled and missed his cute Linlin even more. Thus, he called regularly to talk to her. Shame it was always Sylvius who answers the call.
Since then, Sylvius and Lucian's petty squabbles ignited a fiery battle of the mouths due to their long list of grievances and unending frivolous competition.
One is tenacious to get through his delusion, the other, adamant to slap the other back to reality.
In the end, the two started their daily long-distance fight via a phone call, like a religious three o'clock habit.